The pen feels like a weapon in my hand. Ethan Vale sits across from me, his dark eyes unreadable as he slides the contract closer. This is the man who destroyed my sister in another life. The man who abandoned Maya when she needed him most, leaving her broken and alone until the day she died. And I'm about to marry him. "You're sure about this?" Ethan asks. His voice is low, controlled. Everything about him screams danger, from the sharp cut of his jaw to the way his fingers drum once against the mahogany desk. "Once you sign, there's no going back." I meet his gaze without flinching. "I'm sure." Because I've already lived through going back. I've already died once, and I'm not doing it again. Three months ago, I woke up in my twenty-three-year-old body, gasping for air in my childhood bedroom. The last thing I remembered was being thirty-one, alone in a hospital bed, dying from an illness that had ravaged me for years. Julian Cross—my prestigious, intellectual husband—hadn't even bothered to visit in those final days. He'd already moved on to his next conquest, his next brilliant protégée to mold and discard. But somehow, impossibly, I'd been given another chance. And so had Maya. My sister came to me two weeks after we both woke up in our younger bodies. I thought she'd be relieved, grateful for the second chance. I told her everything—how Julian had used me, how he'd drained every ounce of creativity and ambition from me until I was nothing but a shell. How he'd taken credit for my work, isolated me from everyone who cared, and left me to die alone. "Don't marry him," I'd begged her. "Maya, please. He'll destroy you." She'd looked at me with pity in her eyes. "Lena, I love you, but you're being dramatic. Julian Cross is brilliant. He's respected. Maybe the problem was... you." The words had cut deeper than any knife. "I'm marrying him next month," Maya had continued. "And I think you need therapy to deal with whatever delusions you're having about your past life." She didn't believe me. Or maybe she did, and she just didn't care. Maya had always wanted the prestige, the status, the intellectual circles that came with being Julian Cross's wife. She thought she could handle him better than I had. She was wrong. So I made a different choice. If Maya wouldn't listen, I'd save myself. And the only way to completely change my fate was to alter every single variable. Including my husband. I pick up the pen and sign my name on the contract. Lena Hart. Soon to be Lena Vale. Ethan watches me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. "Why me?" he asks suddenly. "You could have proposed this arrangement to anyone. Why specifically me?" Because you're the one who destroyed my sister, I think. Because marrying you means Maya can't. Because every choice I make differently is another step away from the life that killed me. But I don't say any of that. "You need a wife to secure your inheritance," I say instead, keeping my voice steady. "Your grandfather's will stipulates you must be married by your thirtieth birthday or the company goes to your cousin. That's three weeks away. And I need... protection." It's not entirely a lie. Julian has already started circling, just like he did in my previous life. He's been showing up at the gallery where I work, asking me to coffee, complimenting my "unique perspective" on art. The same routine he used before. But this time, I won't fall for it. This time, I'll be untouchable. "Protection from what?" Ethan leans forward, and there's something predatory in the movement. "From my past," I say carefully. "And my future." He studies me for a long moment, and I wonder what he sees. Do I look desperate? Calculating? Or just tired, the way someone who's already lived and died once might look? "One year," Ethan says finally. "We stay married for one year. That's enough time to satisfy my grandfather's requirements and for you to... do whatever it is you need to do. After that, we divorce quietly. You'll receive the settlement we discussed." "Agreed." "No falling in love," he adds, and there's something almost mocking in his tone. "No messy emotions. This is business." I almost laugh. Love? With the man who abandoned my sister? "That won't be a problem." "Good." Ethan stands, buttoning his suit jacket. He's tall, I notice. Taller than Julian. Broader. Where Julian was all sharp intellect and cutting words, Ethan is raw power barely contained. "The wedding is this Saturday. Small ceremony, immediate family only. My assistant will send you the details." "This Saturday?" That's four days away. "My sister's wedding to Julian is Saturday." "I know." Ethan's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Interesting coincidence, isn't it?" It's not a coincidence. I specifically chose this date, this man, this exact scenario to make sure Maya couldn't have both—the prestigious husband and her sister's support. If she wants Julian so badly, she can have him. But she'll have to watch me marry the man she was supposed to be with. Maybe that makes me cruel. Maybe I'm more damaged from my previous life than I want to admit. But I'm alive, and I'm going to stay that way. "I'll be there," I tell Ethan. He walks me to the door of his office, and just before I leave, he catches my wrist. His grip is firm but not painful. "Lena," he says, and it's the first time he's used my first name. "Whatever you're running from, whatever game you're playing—I'll hold up my end of this contract. But don't lie to me. I don't tolerate liars." I meet his dark eyes and see something there I didn't expect. Not cruelty, like I'd assumed. Not the callous indifference that let him abandon Maya. Something else. Something almost like recognition. "I won't lie to you," I promise. He releases my wrist and steps back. "See you Saturday, wife." The word sends a shiver down my spine. I leave his office building and step out into the cool evening air. My phone buzzes immediately. It's Maya. *Can we talk? I want you at my wedding. Please, Lena. You're my sister.* I stare at the message for a long moment. In my previous life, I was at her wedding. I watched her marry Ethan with hope in her eyes, not knowing he'd leave her within two years. Not knowing she'd spend the rest of her short life trying to win back a man who never truly wanted her. But that's not this life. In this life, Maya is marrying Julian. And I'm marrying Ethan. Everything is different now. Everything has to be different. I type back: *I'll be at a wedding Saturday. Just not yours.* Then I turn off my phone and walk toward my apartment, trying to ignore the feeling that I've just set something irreversible into motion. Something that might save me or destroy me. I guess I'll find out which on Saturday.